Former White House chief of staff John Kelly found himself smack in the middle of conflicts between Melania and Ivanka Trump as the two wrestled for power, Insider reports, citing New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt.

Schmidt, the author of the book Donald Trump v. The United States, said during an interview on MSNBC that Ivanka wanted to be first lady in a “ceremonial sense.”

“John Kelly is probably as serious a national security figure as you can find, a four-star Marine general,” Schmidt says. “he comes into the White House, he thinks that he needs to put in structure and better staffing for Trump and all of a sudden, he’s confronting far more frivolous issues like fights between the first lady and Ivanka Trump, and Ivanka Trump trying to maneuver, what Kelly was told, to become the first lady in this ceremonial way.”

Well, I’m sure Kelly wasn’t bored anyway.

The book’s paperback edition is scheduled to be released Tuesday, and it includes a 12,000-word biography on Kelly and details regarding his time as chief of staff.

Schmidt adds that Kelly was forced to deal with a fair amount of trivialities, including telling former White House aide Omarosa to stop having parties at the White House pool.

“Here’s John Kelly, right, concerned that we could be on the brink of war with North Korea, trying to mitigate these issues that are not as serious but were front and center in the Trump White House where things were off the rails,” he said.

In a new afterword for his book, Schmidt reveals Kelly had heightened concerns when Trump suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on North Korea and then blaming it on another country in 2017. Trump actually posted this scary tweet in January 2018.

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

This couldn’t have been an enviable time for Kelly. Having to deal with all that silliness between Melania and Ivanka Trump, while his boss threatens North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

Let’s hope Trump stays out of office in 2024, or we may wind up with a repeat that won’t turn out so well.

Here’s what Schmidt had to say in the clip below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdImVpRFSY8